At which geographic scale does ethnic diversity affect intra-neighborhood social capital?

The claim that ethnic diversity within the living environment would hamper bonding and bridging social capital has been studied extensively, producing highly inconsistent findings. We studied whether ethnic diversity effects depend on the geographic scale at which ethnic diversity is measured. We examined ethnic diversity effects on intra- and inter-ethnic contacts in the neighborhood, respectively on opposition to ethnic in- and out-group neighbors. Hypotheses were derived from Blau’s meeting opportunities thesis and contact theory, ethnic competition theory, and constrict theory. Using information about 2545 Dutch respondents with their locality defined as egohoods and administrative units, we found that ethnic diversity effects vary with the geographic scale. Ethnic diversity of smaller localities is positively associated with bridging social capital. At larger scales, the findings are mixed: ethnic diversity is positively related to inter-ethnic contacts and opposition to out-group neighbors. Ethnic diversity of smaller localities is negatively related to bonding social capital. In contrast to often-made claims that diversity within the local context would matter most, estimates of diversity effects are not always stronger when diversity measures are aggregated to smaller geographic areas.     

Me and Jasmina down by the schoolyard: An analysis of the impact of ethnic diversity in school on the trust of schoolchildren

Earlier research has indicated a negative relationship between ethnic diversity and trust. Whereas previous analyses have been carried out at the country, city or neighbourhood level, this paper adds to the literature by analyzing the impact of ethnic diversity on generalized trust in others and out-group trust in the primary school context. The question of the impact of ethnic diversity in school on the trust of schoolchildren is addressed by drawing on a unique survey of children with immigrant and native Danish backgrounds, respectively, in the last three grades of primary school in Denmark. The survey design holds several qualities strengthening the potential for drawing inference about the impact of ethnic diversity in school on trust. The results of the analysis do not confirm the negative relationship between ethnic diversity and trust found in earlier research. In the primary school setting, ethnic diversity does not affect generalized trust and even has a positive impact on out-group trust of native Danish pupils (i.e., their trust in immigrants).     

Relational diversity and neighbourhood cohesion. Unpacking variety,balance and in-group size

Ethnic diversity is typically measured by the well-known Hirschman-Herfindahl Index. This paper discusses the merits of an alternative approach, which is in our view better suited to tease out why and how ethnic diversity matters. The approach consists of two elements. First, all existing diversity indices are non-relational. From the viewpoint of theoretical accounts that attribute negative diversity effects to in-group favoritism and out-group threat, it should however matter whether, given a certain level of overall diversity, an individual belongs to a minority group or to the dominant majority. We therefore decompose diversity by distinguishing the in-group share from the diversity of ethnic out-groups. Second, we show how generalized entropy measures can be used to test which of diversity’s two basic dimensions matters most: the variety of groups, or the unequal distribution (balance) of the population over groups. These measures allow us to test different theoretical explanations against each other, because they imply different expectations regarding the effects of in-group size, out-group variety, and out-group balance. We apply these ideas in an analysis of various social cohesion measures across 55 German localities and show that both in-group size and out-group diversity matter. For the native majority as well as for persons of immigration background, the variety component of diversity seems to be more decisive than has formerly been acknowledged. These findings provide little support for group threat and in-group favoritism as the decisive mechanisms behind negative diversity effects, and are most in line with the predictions of theories that emphasize coordination problems, asymmetric preferences, and network closure.     

High political participation, high social capital? A relational analysis of youth social capital and political participation

Social capital has been alleged to increase the capacity for political mobilization. Yet, until now, the empirical debate has not succeeded in rendering a detailed account of the relationships between social capital and political participation partly because of the use of a reductive conception and operationalization of both concepts. Using a multidimensional and relational technique (multiple correspondence analysis) and a detailed youth survey data from Belgium, the article demonstrates that youth draw on diverse forms of social capital and that these forms vary along socio-economic status and ethnic origin. Six classes based on the forms of social capital were identified. Two of them - the ‘Committed’ and ‘Religious’ are highly political active. The ‘Committed’ Class, based on a diversified social capital, consists mainly of non-immigrant youth with a high socio-economic background undertaking a large diversity of political activities. The ‘Religious’ Class, based on a narrow social capital built around religious activities, is mostly composed of ethnic minority youth with a low SES involved in more specific political activities.     

Re-thinking the decline in trust: A comparison of black and white Americans

Generalized trust in other Americans has never been so low. Explanations of this decline draw attention to the role of generational replacement and to period effects stemming from macro-level economic and political changes. In this paper, I consider generational and period trends in trust for black and for white Americans. Although race is considered one of the most important predictors of levels of trust, few studies have analyzed how race relates to larger generational and period trends of decline. General Social Survey data is used to test whether the decline thesis applies equally to black and to white Americans’ trust levels. I consider both the widely used index of generalized trust and the individual items comprising this index. The results show that although the war baby generation (1935-1944) of white Americans was more trusting than other generations, there has been no corresponding variability across generations for black Americans. At the period level, while there has been a decline in generalized trust and each of its sub-components for white Americans, the period-based trends for black Americans are more variable across measures. The use of a general index to study trends for black Americans masks important period-based trends. The decline in trust is related to race and what is missing from most accounts of the race gap in trust is a discussion of structural forces that advantage white Americans and hence inflate their trust levels.     

Explaining relationships between ethnic diversity and informal social capital across European countries and regions: Tests of constrict, conflict and contact theory

In this study we focus on the relationship between ethnic diversity and informal social capital. As this refers to rather strong social ties in the intimate domain, it is a strict test of Putnam’s claim that ethnic diversity would decrease social capital. In order to explain these relationships, we derived mediating mechanisms from conflict and contact theory. Using data from the European Social Survey (2002/2003), we applied multilevel analyses considering three levels: individuals, regions and countries. Our results revealed a direct positive effect of ethnic diversity at the country level on informal helping, yet no indirect effect via the mediating variables. At the regional level, we only found an indirect effect of ethnic diversity. Here, ethnic diversity increases the likelihood of intergroup contact that in turn is positively related to both informal social meeting and helping. Perceived ethnic threat turned out to have a negative effect on informal social meeting.     

School ethnic diversity and White students’ civic attitudes in England

The current paper focuses on White British students in lower secondary education and investigates the effect of school ethnic diversity on their levels of trust and inclusive attitudes towards immigrants. Use is made of panel data of the Citizenship Education Longitudinal Study (CELS) to explore these relationships. Ethnic diversity is measured with the proportion of students in a grade identifying with a minority. In agreement with contact theory, the paper initially finds a positive relation between diversity and inclusive attitudes on immigrants. However, this link disappears once controls for social background, gender and prior levels of the outcome are included in the model. This indicates that students with particular pre-enrolment characteristics have self-selected in diverse schools and that inclusive attitudes have stabilized before secondary education. Diversity further appears to have a negative impact on trust, irrespective of the number of controls added to the model.